SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
TO SAUDI-US RELATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE NEWSLETTER

AL QAEDA PLOT FOILED BY SAUDI
SECURITY FORCES

SAUDIS SEEK 19
SUSPECTED OF TERRORIST PLOT
"After a shootout in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and the discovery
of a major arms cache there, Saudi authorities are pursuing 19 Islamic
militants with ties to Al Qaeda who now appear to have been planning a
substantial terrorist attack, Saudi and American officials said [May
9]. In an indication of how seriously the threat is being taken in
Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government has been unusually open in
discussing it, even making public the names and photographs of the
wanted men in the country's newspapers and television broadcasts this
week. With the militants still at large three days after a raid in
Riyadh, Saudi and American officials said they could not or would not
say what they thought the target of a planned attack might have been.
But they said they regarded the group as having been planning a
significant operation whose most likely objective would have been an
American target in the kingdom..." Complete
report...

SAUDI ARABIA FOILS TERRORIST PLOT
"Saudi security forces today foiled planned acts of terrorism and
seized large quantities of weapons and explosives found in vehicles
and a house in Riyadh… … Security forces are searching for 19
individuals, including a man holding Canadian and Kuwaiti passports
and a Yemeni…" Complete
report…

SAUDI POLICE HUNT GUNMEN
"Police in Saudi Arabia are hunting for a group of 19 suspected
militants believed to be hiding in the capital Riyadh… …The group
were involved in a shoot-out with security forces late on [May 6]
evening which erupted as police stormed the 'terrorists' lair…"
Complete
report…

MANHUNT LAUNCHED AFTER ARMS HAUL
"Saudi police have launched a manhunt for 19 suspected militants
after seizing a huge arms cache in the capital… …They were
believed to be hiding in the capital after a shoot-out with security
forces late on [May 6]…" Complete
report…

AL-QAEDA PLOT FOILED
"A group of Arab extremists who had been planning terrorist
attacks in the Kingdom is being hunted down in a densely populated
district of the capital following a shootout with security forces
raiding its hideout… … …The ministry said it was seeking '19
terrorists, 17 of them Saudis,' but added that it expected to add
other names to the wanted list later…" Complete
report…

SAUDI OFFICIAL: ATTACKS TARGETED ROYALS
"Suspected terrorists who had been planning attacks in Saudi
Arabia targeted the royal family as well as American and British
interests, and received orders directly from Osama bin Laden, a senior
security official said [May 8]… …The official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said the prime targets were the defense
minister, Prince Sultan, and his brother, the interior minister,
Prince Nayef…" Complete
report…

SR300, 000 OFFERED FOR CAPTURE OF FUGITIVES
"Interior Minister Prince Naif announced [May 8] a reward of up
to SR300, 000 [~$80,000] for information leading to the capture of 19
fugitive Al-Qaeda members and SR50, 000 [~$13,000] for those who
tipped security personnel off about them… …The prince's statement
came a day after the Interior Ministry announced that security forces
were hunting for the terrorists, who included a Kuwaiti-Canadian of
Iraqi origin and a Yemeni…" Complete
report…

CHECKPOINTS SET UP NEAR RIYADH TO TRACK DOWN TERROR SUSPECTS
"At least three of the 19 wanted Al-Qaeda suspects who escaped on
Tuesday after a shootout with police fled in a Mercedes which was
parked in front of a car maintenance workshop on the Riyadh-Dammam
Expressway, Al-Watan reported [May 9]. The terror suspects took the
car at gunpoint..." Complete
report...

FAMILIES DENOUNCE THEIR SONS
"The families of some of the suspected members of the terrorist
cell denounced the way chosen by their sons saying they reject all
forms of terrorism and violence and pledged full cooperation with the
authorities to bring the plotters to justice…" Complete
report…

'TERRORISM IS ALIEN TO ISLAM'
"The Shariah considers terrorism one of the most heinous crimes,
says Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of the Makkah-based
Muslim World League. "Islam has nothing to do with terrorism and
the two do not meet at any point," he said." Complete
report...

SAUDI ARABIA CALLS FOR MORE COOPERATION TO FIGHT TERRORISM
"Saudi Arabia's Interior Minister, Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz,
called on the international community to increase cooperation and
coordination to fight global terrorism. Global terrorism networks,
such as Al-Qaeda, have diffuse operations that weave through many
countries. Their tactics and methods of operation have the ability to
elude conventional law enforcement efforts. And, as the strategies of
terrorist groups continue to shift, new and more sophisticated efforts
must be put in place to combat them. 'We have always warned of the
dangers of terrorism and its impact on the security and safety of the
people. And we have repeatedly called for more cooperation among
countries to combat this phenomenon, which does not have a religion or
a nationality or a time or a place.' Saudi Arabia was a principal
architect of the 1998 agreement Among Arab countries to establish
regional counter-terrorism cooperation. It has also been a leader in
joint counter-terrorism agreements established through the United
Nations and through the G-8 countries. Since September 11, 2001, Saudi
Arabia has detained more than 300 suspects and sent 90 to trial. In
addition, arrests of a number of major Al-Qaeda leaders were
accomplished as a result of Saudi cooperation. This week, Saudi Arabia
foiled the plans of a group of terrorists. Saudi law-enforcement
officials captured over 800 pounds of high-explosives, 55
hand-grenades, 2,545 bullets of different calibers, as well as cash
and various disguises. An intensive manhunt is currently underway to
apprehend 19 individuals involved in this plot. According to Prince
Naif, those who terrorize and kill innocent people in the name of
Islam are the ones who are farthest from the practice of
Islam..." Source: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia [May 8, 2003]

SAUDI'S COMPLEX DILEMMA
The discovery of an al-Qa'ida cell in Riyadh may mitigate U.S. media
campaigns against the kingdom, but it points to the growing dilemma
facing the Saudi ruling family in dealing with its Islamist current.
The discovery of a terrorist cell in Riyadh should undermine some
aspects of the U.S. media campaign against Saudi Arabia for harboring
or aiding terrorists, argues one Saudi daily. But another Arab paper
sees the cell as proof of deep divisions within Saudi society, and as
a harbinger of the problems that the Saudi ruling family will soon
have to confront..." Source: Mideast Mirror [May 9, 2003]

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